Miscellaneous Titbits

OK, we've arrived at the hotel. What next?
Checking in will be your first function. You will get a smart card that allows you access to your hotel room. It can also carry your pass information on it. Length of Stay passes will always be that way. You can also charge meals and purchases to your room account with this card. There are however as many pass types as there are fish in the sea. Check out the varied mixture of passes elsewhere in the Magictrips site and you can figure out what you've got and what it offers or what you need to get.

I need a reminder of home. Where can I go?
Assuming that you can't stand to be away from your favorite pint of bitter for all of a week, how can you possibly get a "decent pint" 3,000 miles from home? You have a couple of options. In Kissimmee on US-192 (also known as Vine Street and also Irlo Bronson Highway) there are a couple of British pubs. You can also make a trip into Epcot to the Rose & Crown. Remember that the legal drinking age in Florida is 21, not 18 like back home. If you look younger than that, they will card you (ask for proof of age) and remember, you have the "clever" coded dates of birth on your driver's licences, don't you? Don't lose heart though, the cast members at the Rose & Crown are mostly Brits and they know how to read a licence. Failing that, carry your passport.

The U.K. pavilion in Epcot is, other than the Rose & Crown and the Harry Ramsden's Fish & Chips bar, not a great magnet for British visitors because there is nowhere I can think of that looks like that in the U.K. Maybe a small part of the area around Windsor Castle looks somewhat like the pavilion; it's all in the eye of the beholder. There is however a really nice area down the end of the street where the British Invasion band plays (they look like the Beatles).

Tipping? What's tipping?
Tipping is of course almost non-existent in the U.K. Much like you would tip a cabbie in town or a bell-boy bringing a bag to your room in a hotel in the U.K., tipping is a very large part of serving staff's income here in the United States. Their basic rate is pretty low and they make it up through your generosity. That's why servers are usually extremely attentive and give great service. You should add a 15-20% tip (gratuity) to your meal bills in sit-down restaurants. You do not however tip in counter-service restaurants. Keep an eye out in certain restaurants; the tip is already included in the price. Bell-hops should be tipped 50c -$1 per bag and it's normal to tip your housekeeping staff (the maid) $1-2 per day.

Food
Everything you've heard is true, the food portions are massive for folk staying offsite (non-Disney) The Ponderosa (Buffet restaurant) is a fantastic place to start the day, you can have an all-you-can-eat breakfast for $4. Even in Disney restaurants there is plenty on offer, what we sometimes would do is share a lunch, a chicken strips and chips will easily feed two kids, Even thou' the advertised age for kids is 9, your server will bring you a children's menu if you ask.

If you are going during peak times or you want to do something special, you might want to make an AR (Advanced Reservation for the Disney sit down Restaurants), this isn't a booking, but will get you the next available table, an AR can be made up to a year in advance, but the normal is 90 days. Some of the more popular restaurants may require a small deposit.

This is a very basic idea of what to expect. Feel free to visit the specific areas through the Quick Links that will get you to more information that you can probably take. If that is not enough information or you still have unanswered questions, jump on board the discussion forums where there are always folks willing to offer their knowledge and experience (both good and bad) on life around the World.

Back to U.K. Planning Index

Last Updated: May 9, 2009